Warm
by Simone Robinson
Summary: "This was a peace that Jack hadn't felt in a long time. It was the kind of peace that filled your very being, creeping into the dark parts of you which were filled with cobwebs and monsters. It was the peace you could only feel when there wasn't a worry in the world"- A peaceful moment between Jack and Bunny in the warren, hidden from the rest of the world.


**A/N: Frost/Bunny Pairing. This is more of a character study than a plot based story. It focuses on a moment of peace between Jack Frost and E. Aster Bunnymund, and Jack's thoughts and feelings, that he would never admit to anybody else. I hope that you enjoy it. **

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**Warm**

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This was a peace that Jack hadn't felt in a long time. It was the kind of peace that filled your very being, creeping into the dark parts of you which were filled with cobwebs and monsters. It was the peace he'd felt at the moment of rebirth, bathed in the light of the moon, in a world full of ice and snow. It was the peace you could only feel when there wasn't a worry in the world about your future, or your past, only that moment.

Jack, the spirit of winter. The spirit of fun, the spirit who could light up a room just as easily as he could kill all those in it in an instant, rip them to pieces with the harshness of winter, with a blast of the deathly frost that laced his fingertips and bore into the very centre of his being.

Jack who had never been given the opportunity to open his heart, so never had and had locked it and let it frost over. Who had woken from a past life in a daze of fear and confusion, into a new one, where everything was cold and uncertain, and everything from his past was a hazy dream that he could no longer touch. He had been no one, without existence or purpose.

He rubbed a hand through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes with an impatient hand as it tickled in skin. His attempts were in vain, because a moment later, the soft tickling of fur brushed his nose, and he squeezed his eyes shut against it, resting his slim body into a different kind of warmth that he could never _truly_ feel, but craved and needed like the air he breathed. This was the closest he'd ever get to it, through the one he loved most.

Now, he nestled into the warm fur that surrounded him, allowing himself rest for the first time in three hundred years, allowing the restlessness of winter to finally cease, for just a moment, in the peaceful warmth of spring. He had finally found peace.

The fur beneath him rippled, silken grey markings distorting into unreadable patterns that danced in the light. The warren was always full of the peaceful touch of spring, the dappled lighting, flowing rivers of bright colours and fresh air that filled the world just before the weather stared to become unbearably hot. Just before it grew so hot that Jack sought refuge in the icy regions, and breathed in the cold smoke that rose in the air. These were the moments when Bunny had tentatively ventured into the pole of his own free will, cursing and swearing and loudly proclaiming that his feet were _freezing_. He'd be grumpy and surly and out of place, but he'd stay with Jack until the heat that pained the winter spirit was eased.

Summer meant suffering to Jack. But spring...spring was alright, spring came after the winter. It was subtle and fresh and filled with the kind of warmth that Jack found he _didn't_ mind. People liked spring. People liked the hope and warmth it brought into their homes and hearts. It was a lot harder to like the cold tensions of winter, no matter_ how_ much fun Jack sprinkled into it.

The thought tore a soft sigh from Jack's throat, and for a moment, the peace he was feeling threatened to break into a million pieces.

As if on cue, Aster's ears pricked up, sleepy and unsure. The silken fur tickled Jack's brow and he wrinkled his nose, holding back a sneeze. Aster shifted in sleep, his brow furrowing into a familiar deep scowl, accentuated by the dark markings in his fur. He looked every bit the powerful, Pooka warrior that he was, even in sleep. He had a look that could kill, words that could cut and weapons that could do the job even better, but Jack had seen him with Sophie. That was the first time he had seen the true softness that hid beneath Bunymund. And now, he saw it time and again when the rabbit let down his defences and felt peace. He only ever did that around Jack.

Aster tugged Jack closer, wrapping his arms around him, the scowl fading to the same pace that Jack was feeling. Jack felt the strength beneath his fur and a warm feeling of safety grew in his chest. A deep feeling of security. Not that he would ever admit it when Aster was awake, or_ ever, _in fact. He was a guardian who protected the children of the world. A feeling of safety and belonging was not something he could afford to want.

But he felt it deeply, in moments like these, in their daily lives, and he protected that feeling with his life. He guarded it fiercely, as protective of it as he was of Aster.

Aster shifted, his large frame surrounding Jack's, enveloping him in warmth, strength and soft fur and for a rare moment, Jack let himself relax. He let himself_ like_ the feeling, maybe even love it. The larger guardian knew how much it usually irked Jack to be towered over, but did it anyway. At his 6 foot 1 height, he didn't have to try hard. Granted, Jack probably _deserved _it most of the time, like when he was being...how did Aster put it? _A bloody show pony._

Chuckling to himself, the feeling of contentment and peace descended over him again and he shifted his frosted blue hoodie. Aster grimaced and a shiver of cold ran through his form. Jack sighed with regret and allowed himself a rare moment of softness, tracing the outline of Aster's brow and down his nose with slim, skilled fingers, letting out a breath that frosted the air around them, "I'm sorry..." He murmured, "I can only keep you cold..."

He didn't want to know what North and Tooth would say if they could see him now. Jack Frost, the guy who made every girl's heart melt; the charmer. Jack Frost, a skilled and deadly guardian, who could flatten Pitch and lift the belief in children's hearts like no one else could, even _before_ he was believed in. If they could see the cocky, nonchalant guardian with an edge of ice, _cuddling _into the arms of the one he loved most, filled with soft touches and honesty and romance, they'd think him mad, or tease the _frost_ out of him.

Not that he'd care.

Then again, it was always Bunny and him who exchanged enough banter to drive the group crazy with frustration. They'd always been like that, probably always would be, and that was ok.

But not now, not in this moment, and this peace, and the safety of the warren. There was safety to just _be_. To be believed in a whole _different _way, to reach out in a way that he hadn't been able to do for years. When years of loneliness and isolation had finally been broken by friendship, and then, by something more. By Aster.

And Jack Frost whispered onto the wind, that carried him across oceans, the deepest truth in his world, "I love you."

He rested a cool hand, the colour of snow, against the warm fur of Aster's chest, and for just a moment, one moment of solace, he rested his head against the steady and powerful heartbeat, and let down the guards that had protected his heart for hundreds of years. He let himself feel safe, feel loved and feel love, and it warmed his heart, staying with him for an eternity and beyond.

Then Jack smirked, and with a flick of his staff, froze the Easter, rainbow river solid, into a marble layer of colourful ice, eggs popping half way out, slowing production instantaneously. Then he curled up close, stifling the soft rumble of an amused laugh that started in his chest, full of affection and deep mischief, "Goodnight Peter Cottontail."

Peace was great, peace could warm even the coldest winter, but the expression of Aster's face when he woke, would be_ priceless_.


End file.
